July/August 2009
Around the Quads
Advising, Financial Aids Deans Named
Two major positions in the Dean of Student Affairs Office recently were filled with the selection of Monique Rinere as dean of advising and Daniel Berkowitz as dean of financial aid. Both also serve as associate deans of student affairs.
Rinere was associate dean of Harvard College, where she created the Advising Programs Office and instituted several initiatives to improve advising for the school’s 7,000 undergraduates. Berkowitz was the director of student financial aid and employment at MIT.
“I am very excited to have Monique and Daniel join the Student Affairs staff,” said Kevin Shollenberger, dean of student affairs and associate v.p. for undergraduate life. “Enhancing advising and financial aid resources for undergraduates has been a priority for the deans [of the College and SEAS], which has been reflected in our expanded financial aid initiative … Monique and Daniel are well-known leaders in their fields, and we look forward to them continuing to develop the services we provide our undergraduates.”
A central home for advising will be created on the fourth floor of Lerner Hall, with the Dean of Student Affairs’ suite, the Office of Financial Aid and Educational Financing and the Office of Judicial Affairs and Community Standards moving to the sixth floor.
“This expansion will provide a central physical space for student advising and is essential in providing students with streamlined, accessible resources,” Shollenberger wrote in an e-mail to students on May 7. “Over the past three years, the commitment to enhancing student advising at Columbia has been shared by students, staff, the deans and alumni. The vision, evaluation, planning and resources that have gone into this have truly been a collaborative effort. Establishing one centralized location for the advising office and naming Dean Rinere as the head of that office are important steps toward honoring that commitment.”